Blog

10 problems with the ‘sex assigned at birth’ essay
They’re in what’s said — and not said. This isn’t a cost-benefit calculation. If we really looked at the term ‘sex assigned at birth,’ we might find that the benefits outweigh the costs.

When trans people are cut out of sports in Nassau County, New York
Republican organizes militia. Democratic Party chair retorts: ‘Does he think we’re going to be invaded by Suffolk County?’ Your neighbors are ‘trained’ to serve someone who marks everyone’s sex as a site of surveillance and regulation. This violence affects everyone.

Oh, it’s about sports, is it?
Nope, it’s not. It’s about constraining transgender lives. I don’t judge sports. I don’t pretend to. But I can detect when someone alleges injury and proposes a false remedy to delegitimize a group of people.

Unbox to see which bills House Republicans will propose in 2025
In their rules package, they express an agenda. These bills will attempt to regulate trans people, immigrants, and more.

What Rude Magic Is This (A Poem)
With the background of how I wrote it. I didn’t know what to do with three poems I lost and half-forgot. Now I hear Jacob’s epiphany as a kind of rude magic. The poems come back to me.

No one knows ‘exact role’ of hormones in sex development, doctor once said
‘Dr. Cutter issues warning in administering hormones’ to minors. Don’t worry. It was a long time ago. Dr. Irving Cutter was the dean of the Northwestern University medical school. He advised parents to feed their kids better before seeking hormone treatment.

95 books I plan to read in 2025
Here’s my New Year’s reading resolution. I scanned the 3,000 titles on my ‘to be read’ list and selected the ones I’ll prioritize in 2025.

Trans women frenemies mirror each other’s needs in this novel
June Martin’s debut novel ‘Love/Aggression’ showcases a tragedy of queer housemates. If you’ve had a housemate situation with a queer friend, you’ll recognize the pattern. A real-life incident feels this rude, this chaotic, this intense.

New year’s resolution: I’ll pare down my reading list — to just 50 books!
Transforming my ‘to be read’ list into an achievable goal. I’ve put effort into identifying those books, so I’d prefer that my list be useful. The point is to consult the list. If it’s enormous, it isn’t practical.